Satomi Hofmann

Sushi Schnitzel: A Japanese-German Life Served in an Irish-American Pub

The Green Room 42, NYC, September 8, 2024

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

The delightful Satomi Hofmann has a varied background. Her father was a German refugee; his family barely escaped the Holocaust. Her mother came from Japan seeking adventure and a career. Her stepmother arrived from Russia and acquired a Brooklyn accent. So after she appeared on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera, what would be more natural than to build her cabaret act around Irish music in a pub setting. No, that didn’t make too much sense, and the fact that she announced early on that her life stories and song selections really didn’t connect just added to the chaos. But what fun chaos it was. The entire evening was highly endearing and the talent on stage was definitely impressive.

Part of the magic came from the evident camaraderie among the on-stage musicians. In some shows it might seem that the band had met only an hour before the performance began, but these music makers appeared to be friends. Sonya Siebert on piano (and runner of the slideshow), Sarah Tompkins on drums and backup vocals, Emily Davies on bass and bodhrán (an ancient Irish frame drum), JD Hunter on (extraordinary) fiddle, and special-guest vocalist Joy Lynn Jacobs were all invaluable parts of the night’s entertainment. In addition to her fine singing, Hofmann played spoons spiritedly and the guitar passionately.

A great deal of the evening was devoted to audience participation, a very tricky matter as it can often go flat. Here, it worked mostly because of the sheer enthusiasm of Hofmann setting the perfect mood for group involvement. The clever projections containing the words/lyrics for repetition were highly effective (it was a shame the larger side screen wasn’t utilized as well for those further back in the room). Hofmann had such control of the assembled that they always knew what was expected of them.

Much of the music was raucous and upbeat, including songs such as “An Irish Pub” (The High Kings) and “Mary MacK” (traditional); the spoons really got a workout on that one. There was a wonderful story song “The Black Velvet Band” (traditional) which showed off Hofmann’s acting skills as well as her voice. For variety, she offered a Russian novelty number called “Kalinka” following a “dramatic reading” of the lyrics in translation that was a brilliant spoof. For an absolute contrast, she delivered “She Moved Through the Fair” (traditional) with a quiet intensity that caught the audience’s full attention. “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” (Joseph B. Geoghegan) had equal power. Of course, the main emphasis of the evening was silly fun, and in that it was a total success. All who were there will be eager to see what Hofmann comes up with next.